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good for wasting an hour away on whilst you are waiting for an appointment.

Gladiators sword of vengence is a 3rd person action game loosely based upon roman mythology and history. You take the role of a gladiator out to destroy anything that moves. The game boasts over 60 special attacks that you can use, however you will very soon learn which ones are the most effective and spend the rest of the game happily forgetting about the others. The graphics are ok unless you are playing on a very low resolution in which case everything becomes too pixelated to be taken seriously. The game periodically throws mini-bosses at you. These however are more frustrating than challenging as they all simply require you to use trial and error to find a certain combination of defense and attack that then proceeds to totally destroy them. Overall this is far from a bad game, it just has no stand out features that will make it stand out above any other action titles from its time. It is however a good buy if you see it for less than £5 at a local game store.

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Not bad, not bad at all

Although Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance is not meant to be the game version of the Ridley Scott film you'll find some similarities in the storyline.

The leader, Arruntius, has banned worshipping the gods (well, all gods except him) and is proceeding to destroy Rome with the intention that a new city be built to replace it which will be named after him. The former emperor Trajan's loyal servant, a gladiator known as Invictus who used to be a slave, rises up against Arruntius. This man has untold power and seems unstoppable. Unfortunately the latter isn't true and the evil gods Phobos and Deimos kill him. However that is not the end. Invictus awakens in Elsyium, chosen as the champion by Romulus and Remus and permitted to return to the world of the mortals to stop the evil forces there.

SoV is a hack and slash game but it's not too repetitive. Perhaps this is because of the ability to create combos. There's a variety of weapons and although you may have an overall favourite it's unlikely you'll stick with the same type of weapon throughout the game as different weapons affect different enemies in different ways. Your weapons can be upgraded by completing arena challenges and you will also be able to use magic. You're unlikely to take a pure weapon combat fighting style due to the benefits magic offers.

Initially I wasn't expecting much from SoV in terms of graphics as your character isn't particularly impressive to look at in that respect. The actual areas of the world are an improvement and whilst the graphics aren't going to give you the "wow" feeling of Oblivion they're not bad. The sound is fairly good. The gameplay is quite good, you can't simply run at all the enemies without any tactics though you can with most it wont't work on the bosses. Some people may want to play the game through again, personally I have no desire to. Not because it's a bad game but just because I don't see the point in doing so, there's no part of it I loved enough to want to repeat it and there are no new avenues to explore.

Overall a 3/5.

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Product Details

A Warrior Slave... Chosen by the Gods... To restore the glory of an Empire. In the Year 106AD the Roman Empire is in terrible decline. After the untimely death of the much-liked Emperor Trajan, the despotic Emperor Arruntius has bled the once powerful Rome to its knees. Badly fought wars, famine and plague are rife in all corners of the Empire, whilst the Emperor and his elite enjoy every excess and vice that the emptying coffers can afford. As herald to this age of degradation, Arruntius has destroyed large portions of the city of Rome to create the battleground for the bloodiest gladiator event ever staged.